Look what arrived!

Late last night, a large and heavy box was delivered.  Can you guess what it is?

Joshua was excited to open the box. 

At first glance, it isn't that exciting.  It's boxes and boxes of supplies.  (A three month supply)

 We had to look a little deeper in the box.  I love how it was packaged in a fun way.

This is it!  Joshua's pump.  The pump is on the left and the meter (or "Ping") is on the right.

The timing has gone pretty quickly in terms of the process of getting our pump.  I know we are fortunate on that front and know that this isn't the experience of everyone.  Now, we are waiting on a training session to occur with his doctor (I'm really hoping it's our favorite doctor!) and other people.  I'm really not sure who is to be in on this.  I was told when I called to set it up that it may take several weeks to get it coordinate.  I hope that they pick any day but our field trip day to do this!

We'll spend our waiting time learning.  Joshua has a workbook to go through to see what he knows.  This will be good for both of us to work through so that we understand as much as possible before he starts wearing the pump. 

I've already started reading the book Pumping Insulin.  There is a lot to take in!

We haven't quite finished with the box.

This is no light reading!  Its over 200 pages.  I think this will keep us busy until we are able to have our appointment!

Today was a beautiful day filled with lots of outside play time!  I also spent some time working on a chore system for our family.  I'm not finished, but have made good progress.  I need to do some training before we can hit this running, but that needed to be done and I'm hoping this will help us. 

I also spent time today shopping with Rebecca.  It was fun to spend time with her.  We also worked on our Bible study.  We are doing a study on the book of Esther and it's been wonderful!

God also blessed me in another way today.  This morning, my readings centered on anger.  It wasn't really something I planned, but after an incident with the boys, it was something I really needed.  I was able to have a really neat conversation with one of my boys about anger and what the Bible has to say about anger.  We also talked about how to deal with anger and made a plan.  I am so incredibly thankful that God prepared me for this time.  I know He probably wants to do this much more frequently with me if I only stopped and listened.  Today I listened and He blessed me!

We also faced a challenge tonight.  As I was serving dinner, Joshua checked the carbs on the package of rice for me.  The number seemed high and I asked him to check again.  He confirmed the numbers and we went with it.  I dosed him and he went back out to play.  In less than an hour, he told me he felt low.  He was 43.  His lowest number ever.  I'm so very thankful he felt it as I wouldn't have checked him for at least another hour.  We spent the next couple of hours working to bring his numbers up - but not send him sky high.  We read a book together and figured out where we had made a mistake.  Again, I'm thankful, so very thankful that this time he knew.  He doesn't always feel a low, but this time he did.  Thank you God for watching out for our boy!

Tomorrow we are going to an Easter  Egg hunt sponsored by the JDRF.  It's a suger free hunt!  I'm hoping that the rain holds off and even more I'm hoping that Joshua will be able to connect with another litlte boy with Juvenile Diabetes.  I would love for him to have a friend that understands what he is dealing with.  Even tonight as we were working through the low, he said "I hate diabetes".  I had to agree.  "Me too!"  It's a horrible disease that I never truly understood.  I never knew how hard it is to deal with on a daily basis.  Hoping and praying for a cure!

Hoping your tomorrow is a blessed one as we anticipate the Holy Week.

In His love

Leslie

Albert - FIAR Vol 4 Co-op

This happened a week ago, but was the same day as Daniel's eye appointment so I  haven't gotten it posted. 

We had another delightful day at co-op.  These are honestly some of my favorite days.  I love the creativity and energy put into it by the other moms.  I also love seeing the expressions of creativity by the children.  I always learn new things and just love spending a fun morning with friends!

As always, we start with reading the story.  We spend our time outside as often as weather allows.

The children had a discussion about illusion because in the story Albert, he checks the weather to see if it is a good day for going outside.  It is, until he hears a "bad noise" and then he decides to stay.  The excuse is the weather when in reality that isn't the real reason at all.  Isn't that a great thing to be talking about with children - to help them understand and deal with reality.

Miss Lynn had some examples of things that she partly showed them and then when they saw the entire thing, they realized that it was not as it had appeared.  Then they spent some time looking at some puzzles and optical illusions.

This is the book that was used and it is a really neat one!

In the story, when Albert holds his hand out to check the weather, a bird drops a twig in his hand.  Surprised, he stands there and watches as the mama and papa bird continue to drop sticks into his hand until a nest is built.  To explore a little about birds, each child was given a tag with a picture and description of a bird.  They could use this to talk and ask questions and share which bird they happened to be.

One of the highlights of the day was ... egg-speriments.  My boys loved this!

One of the experiments including observing what happened to an egg soaked in vinegar (a chemical reaction that causes the shell to be gone/absorbed (?) and turns the egg into a rubbery form that bounces.  Another demonstrated the strength of the egg shell.

Next, what happens to an egg when you light a match, place it in a bottle and place an egg on top of the bottle (blocking the entrance)?

The lighted match creates a vaccuum pulling the egg into the bottle.

Learning how to tell if an egg is boiled or not by spinning it, stopping it with your finger and then watching to see what it does.  (The raw egg starts spinning again due to the yolk still being in motion from the prior spinning.)

The children were given more pictures of birds while they looked at a poster with a variety of bird's nests on them.  They then took turns placing the birds with their nests.

The children were then given the opportunity to express themselves by decorating eggs.  They could chose to do one that had been "blown" or one that was hard-boiled.  They could use paint, markers, colored pencils, and/or tissue paper/mod podge to decorate the eggs.

Each egg was unique and different.  It's always a treat to see the children express themselves.  (And I had to try not to laugh when one of mine painted his egg ... white!)

The children played with some of the extra eggs with some making nests by the creek and others made

Egg bombs.   (One of those moments you don't envision when you first become a mom of boys!)

I just thought this was a neat picture of the egg flying through the air on its way to a tree.

The last lesson was on noise and how it moves through the air (waves) as well as the decibel level of various items.  The children learned about the effect of loud noises on their ears too.  Each child was given a slip of paper with a noise on it - from jet plane to a whisper and lots more.  Then then tried to guess the decibel level and were able to see if that item was at a sound level that was dangerous for their ears.

We finished with a yummy snack - egg, nuts, seeds. 

The children were given a cute little fabric nest for their eggs. 

Thanks Lynn and Vivian for a wonderful morning!  We had a blast!

Hope you enjoyed a peek into our day.

Blessings

Leslie

Blue Jay Point

Today was field trip day and we visited Blue Jay Point County Park.  We had a lovely day for our program and it was nice to be able to spend time outside learning and the playing.  I was thankful to have some time to just chat with the other moms.  It's been awhile since we have had weather condusive to just playing and hanging out at the playground.

Our program today was on tree identification.  We tried this earlier in the week during our nature studies and I realized how very hard it was (for me) to identify trees without any leaves).  It was so interesting to hear all of the various ways that you can tell what type of tree it is without any leaves.  Bark, stems, and buds were all a big clue to the type of tree.

We split into 2 groups for our program.  The younger kids went first (5-10 year olds) while the older and younger kids could either play a game with one of the nature boxes available from the park or visit the education center.  My oldest two took Eliana with them so that I could focus on the program with the younger boys.  It was a lot of fun!

We stopped at various trees and looked at its features.  Like the musclewood with the trunk looking a little like a muscle.  They had lots of opportunities to touch the bark and look for details - and remember them later when we came up to other trees of the same variety.





Or the beech with red, cigar-shaped buds AND the leaves hanging on to the tree even though they were dead.  (This is the tree I picked up on today and hopefully will remember.  I figure that I'm doing well if I learn at least one new thing!)



We lookd at maples, sourwood, ironwood, hickory, holly and more.  We learned that the hickory has a "monkey face scar" where branches once were that help you to identify the tree.  They also discussed deciduous and evergreen trees.



The program ended with the children working in pairs with one child leading a blindfolded child to a tree to try to identify.  They then had to try to find the tree without the blindfold.





When we finished, the younger kids played a game in a nearby field (and I have no photos because my camera died) while the older kids went on their walk.  They went on a different path with more trees and a longer walk.  I listened into the beginning of their program.



They were in a picturesqe place in front of a pond.  (Don't look at the next picture if you don't like reptiles!!!)  I took some pictures of the group and then one of the pond.  I'm not putting in the close up for a friend that won't want to see it - but can you see what is on the log?  I thought it was a fake - a statue just for looks.  Turns out that it was real.  A snake that mimics a copperhead.  Lovely.  Thankfully we didn't see any on our walks.



Had to share at least one photo of this little cutie.



We briefly visited the educational center which was for the most part was very nicely done.  One of the exhibits was a little offensive (on a personal level) and sadly one of my children pointed it out to me.  Its was good opportunity to talk about how the world's view and God's view are sometimes different and that you don't have to believe all that you read! 

We stayed for a picnic lunch and several hours at the playground.  A lovely day.  Eliana had a delightful time playing with the other children and in the sandbox.  It was fun watching her.  We look forward to coming back another day.

Blessings
Leslie

Beautiful day!

I've been trying some new things this week.  We are still using our workboxes.  I love that they help *me* with planning.  The time it takes for me to fill the boxes has decreased significantly from when we started with them too!

What I was finding though is that *my* time wasn't being used as effectively as I wanted.  I didn't feel that I had enough time with my older children and wanted to correct that.  So, what I did was outline a scheulde to go along with our workboxes.  It's mainly a schedule of where *I'm* spending my time.  I divided up my time with the children and am trying to work with the boxes so that when they are with me we are covering the things that they need help doing. 

I've also scheduled Eliana's time so that its a little more structured which I think will be good for her.  The last piece was doing a little more scheduling of our chores.  Not all of them as I'm taking baby steps.  We are working on morning chores and helping in the kitchen.  We'll add to this as we go hopefully!

The verdict so far - after just 3 days - is good.  I think it is helping me to get more done and balance my time.  Now, I realize that 3 days is not a huge success, but we'll take what we can get.  It's hardest on the days when I'm out of the home for a large chunk of the day, but since that isn't changing, we'll learn to work with that too.

Today we had therapy for two of the younger kids.  I had a good talk with one of the therapists about goals which was good for *me* as I want to know what we are doing and where we are heading.  By the time we got home, it was still early in the day - and beautiful!  I decided that we would we'd do what we needed to indoors and then move outside.  The kids were all for this!

I don't have any pictures of our outside schooling as we were just busy enjoying it.  Isaiah came up with his own way of doing math today. He asked if he could do a problem and then ride his bike down the street and then come back and do another problem and ride his bike again.  I agreed and thought this was a super idea!  It really worked for him too!  No complaining about math.  He worked more quickly than usual and got it all correct too.  I think we may be doing this more often.

We have been working more on our nature journals this spring.  I've always been sporadic with this, but do enjoy what we are doing.  I love looking back on some of their earlier entries too and seeing the handwriting and pictures from years gone past.  We have had a treat this week as a couple of wrens are building a nest on our front porch on top of one of the columns.

We have been watching them flying to and from the nest with twigs and things.  I tried to get a closer peek into the nest, but can't really see anything in there yet.

It will be fun to watch for the baby birds.  This is a great protected spot for a nest - and not the first year we've had birds there.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch outside too and then did some yardwork.  It was a productive day. 

We had a treat this afternoon as Rebecca planned a tea party.  She sent us each lovely invitations and we arrived at 3:30 to find this scene.  (Yes, I realize that our Christmas tree doesn't add a lot to the spring scene and hopefully it will find it's way off of the porch soon! lol) 

She had been baking and preparing for us and even made placecards (which I saved in case she wants to do this again).  We had popovers with jam and butter, ham and turkey roll-ups (no carbs!), snickerdoodles and lemonade.

Everything was delicious and we all had a great time together.  (Eliana was napping and Christopher was running but they each got some goodies later.)

Thank you Rebecca for a wonderful time!  You are such a sweet sister/daughter!  I often tell the boys that they have the best big sister.  I hope they realize how wonderful she is to them!

We are looking forward to a fun day tomorrow with our FIAR group.  I hope you are having beautiful weather and able to enjoy it too.  God has placed so many beautiful and interesting things in nature for us to enjoy and learn about.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to spend time outside (especially before it gets too hot!). 

Oh, I almost forgot!  One more fun thing to share today.  Eliana used the potty!  Yippee!  It was after her nap and I just sat her down and encouraged her to stay until she went.  I'm not sure she "gets" it, but hopefully it's a start.  She liked the cookie she got afterwards.  I think she will be a girl that is motivated by treats.  lol  So, while I'm not sure if this is the official start of potty-training for us (I really don't like potty training!!!), it just might be.  We'll see how it goes. 

Blessings

Leslie

Birthday pictures and consignment sale

Can I start by saying that I hate it when you have typed in a long entry - and it crashes and gets lost!  I had just finished typing the whole thing and then instead of saving it (my mistake) I went to get some pictures.  Something happened at the photobucket site and crashed both that open window and my blog.  *sigh*  I'll try again.  Maybe there was something else I needed to share.

I wanted to share a few photos of Christopher's birthday.  He started with the red plate!  I'm so glad that they remembered.  I have a few for whom tradition is important and it's sweet to see them carrying on our traditions even when I'm not there.  :-)



Breakfast was Roger's specialty - waffles.  There was also gift giving.



I liked this picture even though it is fuzzy.



The day closed with a birthday cake and lots of candles.  I can't believe he has that many candles!



Earlier this month, I went to the semi-annual consignment sale.  I found lots of great things for the 4 youngest children (and even one dress for Rebecca).  Rebecca went with me to help and it was great having her company.  We also bought more clothes as there were some she just couldn't resist. 

When we got home, there was a fashion show for several days as Eliana tried on her new clothes.  Here's one photo.  You can visit Rebecca's blog if you want to see more.



Rebecca also found an outfit for Eliana that was a lot like one she has.  Don't they look cute!



I am too tired to take a good photo of all the clothes I bought, but we got a lot of good deals.  I think the younger children are set for the summer with the exception of shoes.  I also bought some books, games and hands-on items to use in our schooling.  I love finding these deals!



Our week is going well.  We are healthy - something I'm always incredibly thankful for!  We are having fun.  Rebecca is involved in a play (production is next month) and it is keeping us both busy.  I've been working some this week with costumes.  We've been enjoying being outside more as the weather is gorgeous.  We have birds building a nest on our front porch and it's been fun to watch them - and sweet since we are actually rowing a book about birds that build a nest this week!  Gotta love God's great timing and the little gifts He gives us each day.  I tried to take a peek and don't see any eggs yet, though they may be there and I just can't get a good look yet.  We'll keep our eyes open!

I hope you are having a great week filled with joy, laughter and the security of knowing you are deeply loved.

Blessings

Leslie

History Museum

I'm going to try to play a little catch-up with this month.  We went to the History museum about a week and a half ago.  Our regular field trip was cancelled due to pending rain and so some of us decided to meet at the History Museum in Raleigh instead.  It was a fun morning.  It's always nice to spend time with friends and I think hands-on learning is the best!

In front of the museum with some of our friends.



While we were waiting to meet up with friends in the lobby, I saw a sign for a backpack for younger kids that could be checked out.  I decided to get one and try it out.  It was a really neat way to make the exhibit come alive for the younger kids.  It was geared for ages 3-5.   If you are there, I recommend you trying it out for yourself.  I kept trying to think how I could take this great idea and use it at home. 



We used the backpack called "Good Sports" that went with the sports exhibit.  The older kids had a scavenger type questionnaire to fill out as they found answers to the questions.  The was a guide back to go with the backpack listing questions to ask and what to do each step of the way.  Our first stop was at the gold exhibit and there was a bag inside the backpack to open.  Inside were two golf balls - one intact and the other cut in half.  The children felt the balls and we talked about what the inside was made of.  They also looked at the outside of the ball and we discussed the dimples and why there were there (to make the ball go farther). 

At the baseball section, there was a neat book to read that was the song Take Me Out to the Ballgame with pictures.



Next was the race car displays.  Inside were a pair of racing gloves to try on while you watched a video and pretended to be driving a race car.



There was a jersey to try on in the basketball section.  As you can see, Daniel really enjoyed doing these activities.



There were a few more, but hopefully this gives you an idea.  What a great idea for making the museum more accessible for younger children!



There were also phones that you could listen to famous atheletes talking.





We also saw some exhibits on transportation.



And one on various wars - no pictures in this gallery though.  We also visited an historical mystery exhibit.  There were many items on display and you had to try to figure out what they were used for.  Some were behind glass and others were more interactive, talking to a museum worker.



We enjoyed a picnic lunch and then headed home.  It was a fun day and I'm thankful we had the opportunity to go!

Blessings

Leslie